E-Malt.com News article: China: Tsingtao is most widely recognized for its official sponsorship among all the three official beer sponsors, at 24.1%

Companies that shelled out millions to be official corporate sponsors for the Beijing Olympics, having endured harsh criticism from international human rights activists for tacitly endorsing to China's human rights record, may feel vindicated by a new survey by China's largest market research company, Forbes related on June 23rd. The survey affirms that 70% of Chinese consumers consider Olympic sponsorship a stamp of approval with respect to the quality of a company’s products. Further, 53.9% of a total of 2,000 polled in a phone survey in ten major cities in China expressed willingness to support the Beijing Olympics through their wallets: by making purchases of products from an Olympic sponsor.

The world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola, and China's largest computer maker, Lenovo, stand to benefit in particular. Their brands are most associated in the minds of Chinese consumers with the Games, thanks to their sponsorship. About 31% of the respondents correctly identified Coca-Cola as an official sponsor and 19.5% for Lenovo, the highest in their respective industries, according to a survey released over the weekend by China's largest market research company, CTR Market Research, a spinoff from the country's largest broadcaster, China Central Television.

The Olympics image association was most uneven in the beer industry, according to CTR. While China's top brewer, Tsingtao, is most widely recognized for its official sponsorship among all the three official beer sponsors, at 24.1%, the other two beer sponsors, Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser and Beijing's Yanjing Beer, did not appear to be much good at promoting their Olympic identity. They were correctly identified by only 9.6% and 3.3%, respectively.

An earlier survey, done in April, however, found official sponsorship leaving no lasting impression on the minds of Chinese consumers. The discrepancy might lie in the events of recent months that led to a sudden surge of patriotism in support of the Games. In any case, it may be too soon to say the game is over.



25 June, 2008